United Nations Affirms Its Impotence

By a useless vote to declare a U.S. executive decision “null and void,” the United Nations affirms its impotence.

Personally, I wish the U.S. had not obscured the fact that the United Nations affirms its impotence by showing any interest in the outcome of the vote. The vote was over Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I don’t have an opinion on that decision but obviously no other nation or combination of nations has any say over our decisions of that kind.

Yet the media claims the impotent vote was a “humiliating blow” for Trump and a “victory” for Palestine. Why? We don’t care. If Palestine cares about what a majority of nations think, maybe that’s a comforting poll result. But our decision stands. The U.N. vote was null and void.

In a humiliating blow for Donald Trump on the world stage, the United Nations General Assembly has voted by 128 to nine to declare his controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “null and void”.

Just days after the US used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block a similar measure, the General Assembly resoundingly condemned the America’s unilateral action, which most observers said would hamper efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.

While the vote has little practical impact – it is not legally binding – it is a considerable embarrassment for the US as it reflects global opinion.

As the US licked its wounds, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah seized on what he said was a “victory for Palestine”.

About the author

Joe Scudder

Joe Scudder is the "nom de plume" (or "nom de guerre") of a fifty-ish-year-old writer and stroke survivor. He lives in St Louis with his wife and still-at-home children. He has been a freelance writer and occasional political activist since the early nineties. He describes his politics as Tolkienesque.

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